The Polish public broadcaster TVP and Emitel have reached an agreement to expand DVB-T2/HEVC test transmissions.
Hitherto covering five locations, they will from May 1 be extended to 49, encompassing around 90% of the country’s population. Viewers will be able to watch the channels TVP Kobieta, TVP Polonia, TVP Dokument, TVP Kultura and TVP Rozrywka on a test basis up until June 2022, when Poland plans to switch from the DVB-T to DVB-T2 standards.
Furthermore, during the Euro2020 championship TVP will start broadcasting in Ultra HD in the DVB-T2/HEVC standard in all 49 locations. All games will be shown on the TVP 4K channel with HDR technology and Dolby Atmos sound.
Commenting on the development, Marcin Klepacki, the director of TVP’s distribution office, said: “Preparing viewers for the upcoming change of the digital terrestrial broadcasting standard is a task even more important than the mere technical exchange of technology. Extending the tests of the new technology to the entire territory of the country will allow recipients to check now whether they have receivers adapted to receive the new signal. We also want to show the full potential of the new standard. As part of the tests, terrestrial TV viewers, for the first time, free of charge, will have the opportunity to watch broadcasts of Euro2020 matches on a specially prepared TVP 4K channel, which puts TVP at the forefront of broadcasters, providing a wide audience with UHD / 4K image quality”.
Andrzej Kozlowski, president of the management board of Emitel, added: “Terrestrial television has been the most popular TV signal receiving platform in Poland for many years. In 2022, there will be migration to a new broadcasting standard – DVB-T2 / HEVC. Thanks to the new standard, the recipients of terrestrial television will gain new, better picture and sound quality, and broadcasters will be given the opportunity to expand their offer. I am glad that we can carry out this project together with TVP and present the advantages of the new broadcasting standard to the viewers. I am convinced that the broadcast of Euro2020 in 4K quality will meet with enormous interest from TVP viewers”.
